Salamanders are a class of amphibians that bear close resemblance in appearance to lizards. They are a highly diverse group of creatures bearing various body colorations and characteristics. Despite being widespread, one can witness the highest diversity of salamanders in the eastern North American region, where the Appalachian Mountains are located. In this article, we bring you a list of 5+ Orange Salamanders in the World.
5+ Orange Salamanders in the World
1. Northern Red Salamander
The Red Salamanders are one of the largest in its region, with varying colorations ranging from bright to crimson red to brown to orange. Body color depends on the life stage to a lot extent. Black spots cover almost the entire body, right from the head to the tail.
Older specimens exhibit a fading of coloration, mostly into a purplish brown color. Red Salamanders range from aquatic to terrestrial habitats and feed on insects, worms, and also sometimes on other salamanders.
Despite its widespread availability, its local population has declined primarily due to habitat loss, and now an endangered species in the state of Indiana.
- Scientific name: Pseudotriton ruber
- Size: 4-7 inches
- Location: Eastern United States of America
2. Red-Spotted Newt
The next salamander in this list of orange salamanders is the Eastern Newt or the Red Spotted newt. These newts have the characteristic of three life stages, each with their physical properties.
However, the life stage in consideration here is the second stage, called the Red eft or the juvenile stage. During this time, these newts show a bright coloration, from a striking orange to a reddish-orange coloration, with several dark spots with black outlines.
This juvenile stage is terrestrial, and after this stage comes the adult or the aquatic phase, when the animal transforms itself for its aquatic lifestyle.
The striking bright coloration serves as a warning signal to predators, and the presence of tetrodotoxin (a neurotoxin) in the tissues of this salamander makes it highly unpalatable to predators.
- Scientific name: Notophthalmus viridescens
- Size: 3-5 inches
- Location: eastern North America
3. Mud Salamander
The body color of mud salamanders varies with age and geographic location; coastal salamanders are darker and gloomier, but inland salamanders are lighter and display more contrast with the black dots that intermittently cover their bodies.
Mud salamanders typically start with crimson-colored bodies and plain stomachs which aren’t spotted; as they get older, they turn a dark red, almost purplish, and begin to develop spots on their tummies.
Mud salamanders are toxic, as their skin along the backside of their bodies produces a toxin that can cause irritability, weakness, and hypothermia and therefore keep them away from predators.
They belong to the group of burrowing animals and inhabit swampy areas that provide not only muddy bedrock but also a constant supply of clean water.
Diets of mud salamanders vary, depending on their location, with earthworms and insects being common. Despite having a secure global population, Mud salamanders are quite rare in Virginia.
- Scientific name: Pseudotriton montanus
- Size: 7.5-16 centimeters
- Location: eastern United States of America
4. Spotted Tail Salamander
Next up, we have the Spotted-Tail Salamander, also popular as the cave salamander. They are lungless salamanders and breathe through their skin.
The mucous membranes present in the mouths and also in their throats help them in breathing, and therefore these regions need to stay moist.
Dryness of the mouth or mucous membranes may lead to suffocation and, eventually, death. The tails are quite long and measure up to 65% of their total body length.
After metamorphosis, their body turns orange to reddish-orange, with an unspotted ventral side. The dorsal surface, however, bears a large number of markings in the form of spots and lines.
They are found deep inside caves, far beyond the twilight zone, in places that are rich in calcareous rocks like limestone. The IUCN lists Spotted Tail Salamanders as a species of least concern due to their current widespread population.
- Scientific name: Eurycea lucifuga
- Size: 4-8 in
- Location: Virginia, Kansas, Alabama, Kentucky
5. Blue Ridge Two Line Salamander
Genus Eurycea members tend to be yellowish on the ventral surface, and this species is no exception to it. A very small salamander that stands out from others in its range thanks to its vibrant body with yellow or orange coloration and thick, dark stripes.
The simplest way to tell it apart from the southern two-lined salamander (Eurycea cirrigera) is by the range and more pronounced body color and patterns.
In the larval stage, the Blue Ridge Two Line Salamanders feed on small aquatic invertebrates and some land-dwelling insects. And when they become adults, their diet shifts to arthropods which aren’t insects, worms, and other aquatic invertebrates.
Blue Ridge Two Line Salamanders often fall prey to other larger salamander species and use chemical reception to escape from predators.
- Scientific name: Eurycea wilderae
- Size: 3 inches (snout-vent length)
- Location: Blue Ridge Mountains
6. Long Tail Salamander
One of the largest species in the Eurycea genus is the long-tailed salamander (Eurycea longicauda). As its name implies, it possesses a long tail that, in adults, makes up 60–65% of the entire body length.
The long-tailed salamander’s dorsal body surface lies in the color range of yellowish-orange to yellowish-brown and sometimes even orange-red.
The body features numerous black patches that can be broken up to make lines. The black dots on the tail are more noticeable, and they frequently take the form of vertical patternings, such as dumbbell- or herringbone-shaped patterns.
Light yellow to off-white, the ventral surface may be immaculate or have scattered grey or light brown patches.
- Scientific name: Eurycea longicauda
- Size: 4-8 inches
- Location: North America
Now, we conclude this article on 5+ Orange Salamanders in the World. We will be back with many more articles soon. Until then, you can browse through countless articles over several niches on this website.
References:
- Project Noah- Spotted Tail Salamanders
- SREL- Blue Ridge Salamanders
- SREL- Long Tail Salamanders
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A zoology student turned writer. Nature has always been a magnet to me, and to unearth some of its secrets through my articles is my prime intention. If not engaging myself with nature and anime content, you can always find me going through some Bengali classics or filling the air with some soulful Tabla beats. An artist, trying to throw some colors to my blank canvas of life.